Search Documents

By August J. Kwitowski

The U.S. Bureau of Mines developed and tested a teleoperating system to control a new highwall mining system. A remote operator was provided out-of-sight sensory information and control of coal extraction and haulage equipment. Surface and production testing proved that the teleoperating system supplied the operator with sufficient sensory information to operate the mining system. Details on the teleoperating system provided in this report include (1) sensor selection, (2) a description of the electronic control system, (3) equipment selection and modifications, (4) the positive test results, and (5) recommendations for system improvements.

Jan 1, 2010

By d&apos, Kathleen J. Amico

THIS SUAMMARY is shown in Minerals Yearbook volumes I and III of this series on mineral production in the United States, its island possessions, the Canal Zone, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and on the principal minerals imported into and ex- ported from the United States. The several commodity and area chapters contain further details on production. A summary table comparing world and U.S. mineral production also is included. Mineral production may be measured at any of several stages of extraction and processing. The stage of measurement used in the chapter is normally what is termed "mine output." It usually refers to minerals in the form in which they are first extracted from the ground, but customarily includes for some minerals the product of auxiliary processing operations at or near mines.

Jan 1, 1962

By C. Eddine

"Can we use data to make communication effective? How does one successfully tackle the challenge of solving cultural differences and harmonizing the needs of diverse stakeholders while developing and maintaining a strong and reliable corporate image? Is it possible to achieve better engagement and minimizing risks with data? This paper aims to explore human rights and business procedures, the promotion of shared prosperity in a sustainable manner and the use of metrics to guide decision-making process. Among the topics examined are: • the significance of stakeholder engagement in community development projects; • the use of grievance mechanisms to give a voice to First Nations and communities / populations in vulnerable positions (including children and elders); • the benefits of configuring and implementing a feedback system in partnership with the communities. This research is a preliminary initiative and has limitations on the extent of the material used. The author acknowledges there is a vast amount of work and publications available on this subject, as well, as a variety of examples that have not been included. The intention is to keep developing this research to assess and expand how data can be used to minimize risks and improve engagement, in addition to inspire others to continue advancing this topic. Natural resources consumption is a reality that will not disappear in a foreseeable future. Several developments and operations are located in remote areas where communities in vulnerable situation and Indigenous Peoples live. Feedback systems are being ratified as a tool to help tackling the challenges of harmonizing cultural differences and fulfilling the needs of diverse stakeholders. Integrating social, environmental, and economic values plays an imperative purpose in preserving a productive and trustworthy relationship with stakeholders. Positioning social standards next to environmental and economic principles shows inclusiveness and firm intention of integration. We add value to a positive image of our industry by embracing responsibility for corporate actions and promoting their beneficial impact on the environment. The social context within communities, groups and organizations is dynamic and presents new challenges as connections evolve. There are wildly diverse expectations which one may need to address during exploration, construction and operating phases. Disagreements are an inevitable consequence of interactions due to the different needs and requirements of the parts involved. Nevertheless, balancing differences and solving conflicts can offer remarkable opportunities for improvement."

Jan 1, 2016

By M. B. Bever, A. K. Jena

Equations for the heat effects of additions of mixtures of multicomponent phases to a solution have been derived in terms of the enthalpy interaction coefficients. By these equations and the measured composition dependence of the heat effects on addition of mixtures of Ag-Cd solid solutions and elemental gold to liquid tin-rich solutions, values of the enthalpy in-teraction coefficients in tin-rich solutions at 541°K have been obtained. Analysis of these results in terms of the regular solution theory and the quasichemical theory suggests that near the melting point of the solvent association in the solution becomes important. SEVERAL recent papers have discussed the nature of dilute solutions on the basis of measured enthalpy interaction coefficients. l-3 These coefficients contribute to the understanding of the constitution of solutions and can be used for the evaluation of thermo-dynamic data of multicomponent systems. Their experimental determination, however, is laborious. This communication reports values of the enthalpy interaction coefficients of silver, cadmium, and gold in liquid tin-rich solutions obtained from the measured heat effects of additions of mixtures of Ag-Cd solid solutions and elemental gold to liquid tin-rich solutions. These measurements were made in the course of the determination of the heats of formation of Ag-Cd solid solutions reported in a concurrent publication.4 THE HEAT EFFECT OF AN ADDITION TO A SOLVENT This analysis is concerned with the addition of a mixture of multicomponent phases from the temperature To to a solvent of known composition at temperature T. If Nmixture << Nsolvent, where N designates the gram-atoms involved, the heat effect per g-atom of mixture added can be expressed as (HT - HT )i = difference in heat contents of component element i in the mixture at T and To Q = heat effect on solution of the mixture at temperature T Also1 Q = S Xi [2] where ?Hi ,T,x = relative partial enthalpy per g-atom of i in solution at temperature T and composition of the solution x x = average of the atom fractions of the added material in solution before and after the addition The relative partial enthalpy ?Hi per g-atom of an element i in a dilute solution composed of a solvent 1 and the solutes j = 2, ... m is related to the interaction coefficients by the following equation5 ?Hi - ?Hi-?Hi,x1-1 + S n1ixj+ . . . +S...S...S nrixn2... Xnji...Xnmm+... [3] vhere Xj = atom fraction of solute j in the solution nri = the rth order enthalpy interaction coefficients, which can also be represented by the more general designation5 L(i)n2,n3...nm and nj may have any positive integral value or zero. For identification of various rth order interaction coefficients, nri is written as nn2i2,...nij,...nmm. Eqs. [1], [2], and [3] combine to give the following general equation for the heat effect on addition of a small quantity of a mixture to a large quantity of a dilute solution n = _?ga ?Ha,To + ? Xi(HT - HT o)i a. i + ?xi?Hi,X,i?1 + ??xnjixj + . . . + ???. . .?. . .?xinrix2n2. . . xnji. . . xnmm+ . . . [4] The first term on the right-hand side of this equation is the heat of decomposition at the addition temperature of the phases present in the mixture, the second term is the heat required to raise the temperature of

Jan 1, 1970

By DIONISSIOS T. HRISTOPULOS, JUAN DIAZ, Kray Luxbacher, Steven Schafrik, Zach Agioutantis

Explosions in underground mining due to methane gas have been the leading cause of incidents and fatalities in the mining industry. The main objective of this research is to develop a forecasting methodology for methane gas emissions based on time series analysis. Methane time series data were retrieved from atmospheric monitoring systems (AMS) of three underground coal mines in the United States. The AMS data were preprocessed and statistically evaluated to explore the potential autocorrelation of methane gas. It was concluded that the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) time series model used in the one-step-ahead forecasting mode provides accurate estimates that match the increase or decrease of the methane gas emission data.

Feb 1, 2023

By Charles D. Sutton

Safety is an important part of the everyday activity for the explosives industry. The overall accident experience has not been adverse, however, many insurance companies have eliminated coverage for explosive related activities. The Nobel Insurance Group has responded to this insurance problem for our explosives customers. It is vital that safety efforts continue for all aspects of the business. The continuation of insurance policies for explosives, clearly depends on safety.

Jan 1, 1987

By T. S. Lundy, J. I. Federer

Chemically purified Zr95and Cb95 have been used in determining self-diffusion coefficients in the bcc phase of iodide zirconium over the temperature range of 900o to 1750°C. The temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficients could not be described by the usual Arrhenius-type equation over the entire temperature range. Values of the apparent frequency factors (D0)a and activation energies (Q)A for ZR95 varied from 4.8 x 10-6 to 2.5 x 10-2 sq cm per sec and 20,700 to 46,900 cal per mole, respectively, between 900°and 1750°C. Similarly, for Cb95, values of (Do) a and (Q)A varied from about 2.4 x 10&apos;5 to 0.25 sq cm per sec and 26,500 to 56,800 cal per mole, respectively. The data may be described in terms of the a to ß transition temperature of 1136 °K and the absolute temperature of the diffusion anneals by the following eauations: SEVERAL studies on the diffusion of Zr95 in zirconium have been reported.1"5 The values of the constants contained in the usual Arrhenius-type equation for describing the temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient, D = Do exp [- Q/(RT)], are summarized in Table I. The reported values of Do, the frequency factor, and Q, the activation energy, are seen to vary by factors of about 60 and 1.6, respectively. Examination of the data from any one study indicated reasonable consistency of measurements. The large discrepancies of over-all results, therefore, cannot be explained on the basis of experimental scatter. One possible explanation for the differences in results could be a varying impurity content of the zirconium. Another possibility is that the radioactive daughter, Cb95, influenced the values of some of the determined diffusion coefficients. Therefore, the first of the three purposes of this study was to reconcile the large differences in diffusion results that have been obtained. Several empirical relations have been proposed to relate the diffusion coefficients in solids with physical properties, such as the absolute melting point, the heat of fusion, and the heat of sublimation.

Jan 1, 1963

By Tony D. Canale, Anthony Mazzo

"Times Square, arguably one of the best-known destinations in the world, has undergone and continues to undergo a re-development aimed at attracting corporate tenants to the area. Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers (MRCE) was involved with the planning, design and construction of the foundations for the Conde Nast and 5 Times Square sites, as well as Times Square Tower. These sites are pictured in Figure 1.This paper will focus on the design and construction of the deep foundations for Times Square Tower that was developed by Boston Properties. PROJECT DESCRIPTIONTimes Square Tower is 47 stories tall, with no setbacks and an overall height to top of crown of 730 feet (222.5m). It has two basement levels extending 30 feet (9m) below grade over the full site. As shown in Figure 1, the structure occupies the entire site and has a footprint of 22,000 square feet (2,044 m2), with a total rentable area of about 1.2 million square feet (111,480 m2). The planned use for the building is office space with retail at the ground level. When completed, Times Square Tower was the final building constructed as part of the Revitalization of Times Square. Due to the site constraints, designing and constructing the foundations was akin to placing the final piece of a puzzle.Times Square Tower provided numerous design and construction challenges that were a result of tight working conditions, heavy column loads, and a compressed schedule.GEOLOGIC SETTING AND SITE HISTORYThe Times Square area is part of the Manhattan Prong called the Manhattan Ridge, a formation of old and durable metamorphosed and folded bedrock, now termed the Hartland Formation. The bedrock generally has a thin soil cover and uneven surface overlain in some areas with a thin mantle of decomposed and/or weathered rock. Overburden soils include glacial and post-glacial deposits and recent fills.Transit improvements have been made in and around the Times Square area since the early 1900’s. The 1, 2 and 3 Subway Lines that run below 7th Avenue were constructed circa 1915 using cut and cover techniques and extend about 28 feet (8.5m) below grade. The N, R, Q & W Subway Lines that run below Broadway were also constructed in 1915 using cut and cover techniques and extend about 38 feet (11.6m) below grade. The 7 Line that runs below 41st Street was constructed later, using both cut-and-cover and tunneling methods as it runs below the other subway structures at a depth of about 55 feet (16.8m) below grade."

Jan 1, 2005

By K. L. Azinger

Successful relationships between mining companies and local stakeholders are now an essential part of the social contract of “doing business” (Prescott, 1995). The methodology presented in this paper is designed to assist mining companies in understanding and building relationships with diverse stakeholder groups. The methodology starts by recognizing that mining projects have a natural life cycle which can be used to identify when new external affairs strategies are required. In designing an external affairs strategy, the first step is to set objectives that are compatible with the overall objectives of the mining project. The management team then identifies the main stakeholder groups and seeks to understand the priorities and inter-relationships of the individual stakeholders. The result of this stakeholder analysis is an understanding of the Degrees of Influence of each of the stakeholder groups along with a relationship map which illustrates the strong interactions between stakeholders. The company is then prepared to take a proactive approach to building relationships with the primary stakeholders. This methodology was developed by BHP to assist with the federal government environmental approval process for the development of Canada’s first diamond mine. BHP has successfully used the methodology in three different phases of the NWT Diamonds Project and is now applying the methodology to mining and development projects around the world.

Jan 1, 1998

By S. Constantinides

"A major use for many of the rare earths is in permanent magnets. While alternate technologies are in research or already exist, rare earth magnets are unlikely to be supplanted as a major input to clean technologies and high efficiency consumer and industrial devices. We’ll examine where and how the magnet rare earths are utilized and the size of the market. Market growth forecasts based on global markets will be presented. A brief explanation of materials research in the US completes the material.INTRODUCTIONRare earth magnets, first commercialized c.1969, have become essential for a wide range of consumer, industrial and military devices. They are used in the speakers and vibrator motors of cell phones. Rare earth magnets spin the hard discs within the drives and rare earth magnet voice coil motors position the read/write head over the spinning platter. Rare earth magnets are the heart of motors and generators used on airplanes – they are smaller and lighter weight than alternative materials/devices. Now rare earth permanent magnets are being introduced into electric vehicles and wind power generation.Rare earth minerals are difficult to extract from the ores and to separate from one another. The increase in use of rare earth magnets has placed a severe strain on established sources of supply. The establishment of new mines and processing facilities is costly and requires upwards of 15 years to become productive. The combination of rapid rise in use of rare earth minerals coupled with supply shortages has caused rapid price increases and threat of non-delivery of product. The result of this disruptive situation has been a profound response at several levels: corporate, industry-wide and governmental. Let’s learn more about why rare earth magnets are so important to modern society."

Jan 1, 2012

THE following statement is contained in an article entitled "Mortgaging the Future." by Walter C. Teagle, president of the Standard Oil Co. of New Jer-sey, appearing in the current issue of the Lamp, the official organ of the Standard Oil Co.: "During the last eight months the domestic daily production. of crude oil has risen 300,000 bbl.. which means that no less a volume than 2,500,000 bbl. now are coming to market each day. . . . Every twenty-four hours 250,000 bbl. more than the consumer required are being added to our surplus oil storage. The temporary advantage of cheap petroleum products and the availability of fuel .oil, for a widespread use as a substitute for coal are not being weighed against the time when scarcity may follow on the heels of plenty and the public of tomor-row may have to pay for today&apos;s excesses. The over-production of crude and its consequences constitute a problem of national import which far outweighs the temporary advantages either to a part of the industry or to sections of the public.

Jan 8, 1927

By Steven M. Henderson, Zachary D. Jones

The risk of allocation in construction contracts is a primary concern for all parties. For contracts involving subsurface construction the allocation of site condition risk is critical. In the past one hundred years technological advances fundamentally changed how that risk is allocated; yet another shift in this risk allocation may lie just over the horizon due to advances in geotechnical data management. Around the world initiatives are underway to make geotechnical datasets more open and accessible. In the United States some states like Kentucky have already made geotechnical data readily accessible. This proliferation of geotechnical data in the U.S. may impact the allocation of subsurface risk in construction contracts. Many construction contracts contain a differing site condition clause. That clause allows for a modification of the contract price or schedule if the ground conditions encountered by the contractor differ materially from either what was indicated in the contract documents or would be reasonably expected. A contractor, however, is typically not entitled to that modification if the contractor knew or should have known of the adverse conditions encountered. Courts have interpreted the “should have known” language as requiring contractors to make a reasonable site investigation prior to bidding the project. If geotechnical data is available and accessible and reveals the adverse condition the contractor encounters, courts could find that the contractor should have known of the condition and thus will not be entitled to a modification based on the differing site condition clause. Accordingly, the U.S. could be on the threshold of significant shifts in how the risk of differing site conditions is allocated in construction contracts.

Jan 1, 2017

By Bernard MacDonald

Introduction. OF the treatment of the slime-pulp of gold- and silver-ores by cyanidation, agitation is an essential part. When prepared for treatment, this pulp, consisting of ore reduced to such fineness that approximately 80 per cent. of it will pass through a 200-mesh screen, is mixed with a certain proportion of water, carrying in solution the quantity of cyanide (KCN) and other chemicals required. The water-constituent of the pulp thus prepared usually ranges from 1 to 2 parts by weight to 1 of the dry ore. Thus constituted&apos;, the pulp is charged into treatment-tanks, the shape and capacity of which vary, according to the quantity of pulp to be treated daily and the method of agitation to be employed. Tanks have no other function in a cyanide-plant than that of being economical and convenient containers or receptacles for holding the pulp, solution, or water used in the operations. It is by agitation that the solids in the pulp charged into the tanks are kept in suspension in, and mixed with, the solution in the proper proportions required for the treatment. If the proper mixture of solution to solids be determined to be 2 to 1 by weight (which is, approximately, 5 to 1 by volume), this proportion should be maintained in every part of the charge ; -that is, each solid particle of the pulp, whether it be of 180- or 400-mesh size, should, be surrounded by five times its own volume of solution throughout the whole period of treatment. The reason is, that the amount of chemicals ascertained to be necessary for dissolving the gold and silver contained in the solids, is held in uniform solution in the water-constituent of the pulp, and, therefore, the determined proportions of solution and solids must be maintained at all times during treat-

Apr 1, 1912

By William W. Edgerton

Establishing geotechnical baselines on soft ground projects that require the use of closed-face tunnel boring machines (TBMs) is difficult. It is hard to see the face when mining and the excavated material is combined and mixed, all of which makes baseline quantifications challenging. In an attempt to meet underlying objectives of minimizing bidder contingencies, allocating or sharing risks and paying for conditions only if they occur, nongeotechnical baselines (i.e., functional baselines) have been developed. These have been used on the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority?s Clean Rivers (DCCR) Blue Plains Tunnel (BPT) project. This article examines the development of such functional baselines and how they were implemented on the BPT project.

Jan 1, 2012

By K. Parameswaran

This paper builds on presentations made at the Conference of Metallurgists (COM) 2015, COM 2017 and Extraction 2018 and associated papers published in the respective conference proceedings. Based on the classic Brundtland Commission definition of sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” the paper describes how metal mining can be compatible with sustainable development and how sustainability considerations have been applied in the primary copper industry, using several examples of sustainable mining practices from ASARCO LLC operations. Finally, the paper discusses how these considerations might be used in the future by discussing the need for developing a sustainable development strategy and how this strategy can be aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. INTRODUCTION The primary copper industry comprises: mining (also referred to as “extraction”); mineral processing (also referred to as “beneficiation, “milling” or “concentration,”) which includes leaching, solvent extraction (SX), crushing, grinding, froth and flotation operations; and metallurgical processing which includes smelting and converting; refining, which includes fire-refining or anode refining and electro-refining; and electrowinning (EW). There are two routes for producing refined copper: hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical. The hydrometallurgical route comprises mining (open-pit and underground), mineral processing (crushing and grinding — for heap leaching only; leaching and SX) and metallurgical processing (EW). The pyrometallurgical route involves mining, mineral processing (crushing, grinding and froth flotation) and metallurgical processing (smelting, fire refining and electro- refining). The primary copper industry is capital, water, resource and energy intensive with the potential for significant environmental impacts, if the environmental aspects are not properly managed. ASARCO LLC (Asarco) was organized in 1899 as the American Smelting And Refining Company. Originally a consolidation of several lead-silver smelting companies, it evolved over the years into an integrated producer of primary non-ferrous metals, including copper, lead and zinc and associated co-products. Grupo México, S.A.B. de C.V (Grupo México) acquired Asarco in 1999. Today, Asarco is a vertically integrated producer of primary refined copper and associated co-products such as gold, silver, selenium and tellurium. Asarco operates three open-pit mines and mills, two leach, SX-EW plants, a copper smelter in Arizona and a copper electrolytic refinery in Texas.

Jan 1, 2019

THE CHALRYAN.--I think that we have set the stage for the balance of the sym- posium. Most of the emphasis has been placed on the immediate value of every- thing we can do and everything we can learn for the furtherance of the war effort. I believe that ought to be first, but I also believe that this is the time for us to con- sider very seriously not only what these improved methods and techniques do to form a closer approach to ideal segregation but what effect these great quantities of scrap metals and alloys that are going to be produced this year and next, are going to have-what their impact will be-on post- war industry in general and in particular ,, on the primary metals fields. In some cases we have been hearing in the last month or two of the law of diminishing returns coming to the fore. We find alloy simplification growing and certain alloys being produced in great quantities, which will perhaps drop out of the picture some- what as the war ends but never to the lower ( stage they had before. We have I think a pretty good cross- section of the producers, the refiners, the reclaimers and ingot makers, the ultimate users here, and there ought to be some good and helpful discussion. The papers are open for discussion. Mr. Beattie, do you want to make any 1 comment? H. J. BEATTIE.*-To start the discussion I might ask Mr. Deitz what they do with manganese bronze turnings? We segregate the manganese bronze turnings from the other bronze turnings. The value of it seems to be much out of line with the price of ingot, that is, as compared to some of the other alloys like 88-10-2 or 85-5-5-5. I assume it is because they can only use a

Jan 1, 1943

By M. B. Hopkins

FOR years the expression "except rubber, tin, and manganese" has appeared in practically every discussion of the natural resources of the United States. Knowledge that natural rubber is not produced in the United States has now spread from the relatively few who have reason to be interested in the country&apos;s basic raw material supplies to all those who ride in automobiles, which means everybody. This "everybody" reads in the daily papers that we have a stock pile of natural rubber and that plenty of synthetic rubber is just around the corner. Statistics as to the United States&apos; rubber requirements and sources of supply are of interest to him only to arrive at an answer to the question : "After taking care of rubber requirements for military purposes, will there be rubber for my automobile and the many other rubber articles I want?" More than 30,000 different rubber articles are manufactured in addition to the tires and tubes which use up about 70 per cent of the rubber supply.

Jan 1, 1942

By Karl-H. Daum

Over many decades, numerous feasibility studies have demonstrated, that the production of sulphuric acid remains the most viable option of sulphur recovery from smelter off gas and abatement of SO2 emissions to the atmosphere. This is particularly more pronounced as smaller but more concentrated off-gas flows are to be treated from smelters, and enhanced sulphuric acid processes be-come available. Off-gas handling systems represent a significant capital and operating cost burden to the metallurgical operation. Modern pyrometallurgical smelter processes for sulphide ores based on the use of oxygen-enriched air, produce relatively small off-gas flows with high SO2 concentrations in the smelter gas of 30?60 %-vol. of SO2. This is a prerequisite for substantial cost reductions in the smelter off-gas handling and treatment system. As an alternative to sulphuric acid production, numerous scrubbing concepts with alkali or dual-alkali combinations as well as organic absorbents have been proposed. Also the reduction of the SO2 to elemental sulphur has frequently been studied. Very few of those alternative processes have been built in industrial scale, but all were generally characterized by none sustainable operation due to cost reasons, problems with issues related to chemicals used and by-products or poor availability. Thus the traditional concept of converting the SO2 to sulphuric acid is most common, although regarded as un-economic, but is at least a proven, environmentally sustainable and reliable way of sulphur gas processing. With the high acid price levels these days, operating companies are even able to generate significant revenue with their otherwise ?fatal? acid.

Jan 1, 2009

By Claus Becker

The Mixshield is a tunnelling machine for water bearing soft soils. Developed on the basis of the Hydroshield, it extents the application of this machine to cohesive soils. The design of the drum-type machine allows three different applications 1. As shield with liquid supported face and hydraulical mucking 2. As Compressed-Air-Shield 3. As Earth pressure balanced shield. The Mixshield is employed on three big contracts 1. a 6.3 km ring tunnel in Hamburg, outer diameter 5.95 m, with a new developed segmented concrete lining 2. a 1.9 km pipe-jack job near Cologne, o.d. 3.6 m 3. Metro Lot 3 in Lille/France, o.d. 7.7 m, 3.2 km long with segmented concrete lining and a most sophisticated separation-plant The site experiences will be reported.

Jan 1, 1987

By M. A. Trevits, G. W. Luxbacher, L. D. Patts

"It is almost a given that post-disaster mine conditions will have compromised the mine ventilation system, resulting in a hazardous atmosphere in portions of the mine, and often complicated travel through debris fields and roof falls. Robotic technologies provide the opportunity to gather valuable information to assist decision making or lessen exposure to dangerous conditions. MSHA's Mine Emergency Operations Division (MEO) has utilized a fully permissible mine robot, the V2, for a number of years, constantly updating the unit as new technologies became available. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, as part of the MINER Act Extramural Contract Program, examined the need for additional robotic units and ultimately funded three different types of prototype technologies: two robots, the Snake Robot and the Gemini-Scout, and a mine rescue robotic assist vehicle known as the ""Mule"". The Snake Robot is designed to be lowered through a borehole and to conduct surveillance (gas monitoring, video and audio) in the immediate vicinity, while the Gemini-Scout, designed to be deployed in the mine opening, serves as a more mobile and agile exploratory tool as compared to the MSHA V2 robot. The Mule was developed in response to needs expressed by mine rescue teams for a versatile remotely operated support vehicle and it will move from prototype to MEO utilization in the near future. This paper describes the development of the robot prototypes and discusses their limitations in the prototype stage, possible enhancements and potential applications, as well as the utilization of the Mule. INTRODUCTION The conditions in a coal mine may be dramatically altered after a mine fire or explosion. For example, the ventilation system may not be functioning correctly as control devices may be compromised or damaged beyond repair. The visibility in the mine opening may be limited due to accumulated smoke and dust. Roof support systems may be damaged or no longer functional. Equipment and materials may be strewn about the mine opening. Debris fields, blocked openings, roof falls, flooded areas, gas accumulations and active burning make it very difficult or impossible for those managing the post-event emergency to permit mine rescue teams to enter the mine to conduct search and rescue operations. With the evolution of robots and robotic assist technology there has been a proliferation of purpose-built units for the military, police and law enforcement agencies, urban search and rescue and those contending with hazardous environmental conditions. In each case, the technology used is designed to limit human exposure to the unsafe conditions or to provide access to areas under difficult conditions. For example, a specially-designed marine robot has been deployed into the damaged core of the Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to assess the conditions of the containment vessels, where melted fuel is believed to have accumulated. Human access to the area is prohibited due to dangerously elevated levels of radioactivity [1]. Multiple robots were deployed in Amatrice, Italy, to assist in the response after the 6.2-magnitude earthquake devastated the town. The robots were used to explore two medieval churches that were severely damaged and deemed too dangerous for human entry [2]. Tactical robots are regularly used by police and law enforcement agencies when the conditions of the emergency place intervening officers directly in harm's way [3]."

Jan 1, 2018